Ruptured gas line leads to school evacuation

A firefighter positions a hose line near St. Vincent Church after a private contractor accidentally ripped open a 4-inch gas line while grinding up a tree stump next to the church.
— Greg Gross / Greg Gross / Union-Tribune

A firefighter positions a hose line near St. Vincent Church after a private contractor accidentally ripped open a 4-inch gas line while grinding up a tree stump next to the church.
— Greg Gross / Greg Gross / Union-Tribune

SAN DIEGO – Students at a private coed Catholic elementary school in Mission Hills were evacuated Thursday afternoon due to a gas leak outside the church next to the school, authorities said.

The 205 students attending St. Vincent School were taken to nearby GrantPark shortly after the leak was reported about 2:10 p.m., said Maurice Luque, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

The gas line is directly next to the church on Lewis Street between Ibis and Jackdaw streets.

The 4-inch gas line was accidentally ruptured by a private contractor who was doing some work for the church, using a ditch-digging machine to grind up a tree stump. The machine dug a bit too deep and struck the gas line, Luque said.

San Diego Gas & Electric crews were at the scene trying to repair the leak, which could be smelled and heard a block away.

Two people who were in St. Vincent Church were evacuated, as were some people in nearby homes.

There were no initial reports of injuries and no estimate on when the line would be repaired.

Luque said there was no immediate concern of an explosion because conditions were windy enough that the gas was dispersing as it came out.

There had been some concern because the neighborhood, which has many older homes, has some houses with water heaters that are outside, and authorities did not want the gas to connect with pilot lights on the heaters.